The invention relates to motor vehicles, especially passenger motor vehicles having an adjustable front seat and a safety device constructed as a knee support arranged below the switchboard or dashboard of the vehicle.
It is known to solidly attach knee supports of the mentioned type to the body structure. The position of the knee support in relation to the seat is considerably changed with adjusting operations of the seat. This results in a condition that the knee support for passengers of variable body size is not automatically in the effective position.
It is the task of the present invention to construct a knee support and a seat in such a way that the described disadvantages are avoided.
According to the invention, the knee support is connected to the seat through a device of such construction, that the knee support is adjustable in dependence on the position of the seat. In preferred embodiments, the knee support is adjustable by means of a swivel bearing. The swivel bearing is arranged in the vicinity of a vehicle floor sheet metal panel. The seat and the knee support are interconnected by a linkage system such that movement of the seat automatically results in movement of the knee support about the swivel bearing. The position of the knee support in relation to the seat is adjustable by means of an adjusting device in particularly preferred embodiments. The adjusting device is assigned to the linkage system interconnecting the seat and knee support. The adjusting travel of the knee support and of the seat are geared (transmitted in a ratio to one another) such that the adjusting travel of the knee support is smaller than the adjusting travel of the seat.
The advantages mainly attained with the invention can be seen therein, that the knee support is adjusted automatically in dependence of the position of the seat whereby the knee support for passengers with varied body sizes is always brought into the most effective position. The knee support is adjustable by means of a swivel bearing which, in a simple manner, is arranged advantageously in thevicinity of the floor plate. A safe transmission of the adjusting travel between seat and knee support is accomplighed by means of a linkage system. By means of the adjusting device, the knee support is adjustable relative to the seat according to individual wishes. The transmission of the adjusting travel paths of the knee support and seat makes a good bearing condition possible of the seat and knee support under consideration of authropometric and ergonometric aspects.